Smuggler Assaults Border Agent, Kills Migrant During California Pursuit, Say Feds

An alleged human smuggler reportedly assaulted a Border Patrol agent and killed a migrant during a vehicle pursuit in southern California. The death occurred on Christmas Day when the smuggler crashed and ejected three passengers from his vehicle.

National Guardsmen operating a mobile surveillance system near the border with Mexico at 5:59 p.m. on December 25 observed a suspicious vehicle near Jamul, California. The guardsmen later observed the vehicle, a black Honda Accord Sport, returning northbound on Miniwawa Truck Trail at a high rate of speed, according to a statement provided by San Diego Sector Border Patrol officials.

The Guardsmen notified Border Patrol agents who responded to the area in a marked patrol vehicle. The agents attempted to stop the driver of the Accord near the Pico Pico campground about three minutes following the notification. The driver stopped his vehicle momentarily and then fled into a trailer park located inside the campground, officials reported.

About one minute later, the driver of the Honda exited the trailer park and struck the waiting Border Patrol vehicle. The driver then exited the park and continued to flee on Otay Lakes Road. Other agents picked up the pursuit and about one minute later, the driver went off the road on an embankment and crashed. The crash ejected three passengers from the vehicle and the driver fled on foot.

Border Patrol agents immediately requested medical assistance for the ejected migrants and pursued the driver after a short foot chase.

Emergency Medical Technicians arrived on the scene and began treating the injured migrants who had been ejected from the Honda. Officials later identified the man as a Mexican national.

Other agencies, including CalFire, California Highway Patrol, and Mercy Paramedics arrived on the scene and tended to the injured migrants.

A medical examiner later declared one of the migrants decreased due to head trauma sustained in the crash, officials stated. The ambulance crews transported the driver and one of the other ejected passengers to Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego. Another ambulance took the third ejected person to Sharp Memorial Hospital.

CHP officials told reporters with Fox5 in San Diego the driver was the only person wearing a seatbelt. They identified the deceased passenger as a 52-year-old man and the two survivors as 19 and 29-year-old men. The two survivors were reported to be in critical condition.

The station identified the driver as 22-year-old Kevin Antonio Quevedo-Moncada, a resident of Lake Forrest, California. Quevedo-Moncada reportedly told police he was paid $2,000 to go to the location and pick up a package he believed to be “weed and stuff.” When he arrived the three people jumped into his vehicle and said, “Let’s go, run!” the criminal complaint states.

Quevedo-Moncada faces federal charges related to the alleged assault on the Border Patrol and human smuggling resulting in the death of a migrant, the local Fox affiliate reported.

Officials report the incident is being investigated by the California Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office and the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility are reviewing the matter. Officials also notified the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.